Use of deodorants based on activated carbon, silica, activated alumina, sepiolite, or aluminosilicates, such as natural or synthetic zeolite, has been known usually as a means to remove malodors. However, many of such solid deodorants are effective only on specific odors such as acidic or basic odors and cannot be said to have sufficient deodorizing effects. This is because a malodor is not something from a single substance but a composite odor of many malodorous compounds. Few deodorants showing broad deodorization spectrum have been proposed, and, if any, the conditions of their usage have been limited.
Patent Document 1 (see below) discloses porous, crosslinked polymer particles prepared from an aromatic polyvinyl compound and an aromatic monovinyl compound, suggesting utility as an organic matter adsorbent. However, the publication is silent on adsorption of malodorous components. The particles disclosed have insufficient performance as a deodorant.
Patent Document 2 discloses polymer particles containing a metal component, which are obtained by having fine metal particles supported on a porous polymer body thereby endowing the polymer particles with functions essentially possessed by the metal particles such as antibacterial, odor-preventive effects. However, the technique proposed requires a reducing agent for reducing a metal salt, which incurs high cost. Another disadvantage of the technique is that the ligand of the metal salt becomes useless after reducing the metal salt to metal. Although the publication recites a carboxyl group, a sulfonic acid group, an amino group, etc. as an ion-exchangeable or ion-coordinable polar group, it does not refer to the high metal supporting ability by a heteroaromatic ring.
Patent Document 3 discloses a porous ion-exchange resin obtained by crosslinking polymerization of a metal complex having a polymerizable functional group as a ligand but has no mention of its deodorizing ability. Additionally, the process proposed is inefficient because it allows a metal component to be incorporated into the inside of the polymer, resulting in reduction of the metal component distribution on the surface of the polymer particles or pores as compared with addition of a metal salt to porous polymer particles to have the metal ion supported thereon.
Deodorant absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, having an absorbent member wrapped in a deodorant fibrous sheet (deodorant fibrous product) to seal in the odor of excreta have been proposed as disclosed, e.g., in Patent Document 4. The deodorant fibrous product disclosed in Patent Document 4 is a fibrous material having adhered thereto a deodorizing agent having pores with a specific opening size in a specific volumetric proportion. While the deodorant fibrous product of Patent Document 4 exhibits a considerable deodorizing effect, there still is a demand for deodorant fibrous products with further improved deodorizing performance.    [Patent Document 1] JP 11-147915A    [Patent Document 2] JP9-188778A    [Patent Document 3] JP1-245859A    [Patent Document 4] JP2001-70339A